Raid on Rommel
| Raid on Rommel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Henry Hathaway |
| Written by | Richard M. Bluel |
| Produced by | Harry Tatelman |
| Starring | Richard Burton John Colicos Clinton Greyn Wolfgang Preiss Danielle De Metz |
| Cinematography | Earl Rath |
| Edited by | Gene Palmer |
| Music by | Hal Mooney |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
Release date | 12 February 1971 |
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Raid on Rommel is an American B movie from 1971, directed by Henry Hathaway and set in North Africa during the Second World War. It stars Richard Burton as a British commando attempting to destroy German gun emplacements in Tobruk. Much of the action footage was re-used from the 1967 film Tobruk and the storyline is also largely the same.
Plot
Libya 1943, British Army Captain Alex Foster allows himself to be captured by a German convoy transporting British prisoners. Once integrated with the prisoners, Forster plans to take over the convoy with the help of the prisoners and redirect it towards the Libyan port town of Tobruk. On the way they notice an anomalous concentration of German tanks, and they surmise that there must be a fuel depot hidden nearby. The high ranking officers become guests of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and see a map telling where the fuel depot is. They make excuses, leave, blow up the fuel dump and head for Tobruk where they destroy a coastal battery and escape to awaiting Royal Navy battleships.
Cast
- Richard Burton — Capt. Alex Foster
- John Colicos — Sgt. Maj. Allan MacKenzie
- Clinton Greyn — Maj. Hugh Tarkington
- Wolfgang Preiss — Gen. Erwin Rommel
- Danielle De Metz — Vivianne Gagliardo
- Karl-Otto Alberty — Hauptmann Heinz Schroeder
- Christopher Cary — Cpl. Peter Merrihew
- John Orchard — Dan Garth
- Brook Williams — Sgt. Joe Reilly
- Greg Mullavy — Pvt. Ed Brown
- Ben Wright — Admiral
- Michael Sevareid — Cpl. Bill Wembley
- Chris Anders — Tank Sergeant
Reception
The film was poorly received by critics. It has a 24% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. [1] Many would say the film was not as exciting as Hathaway's past action films. The absence of subtitles seriously affects the understanding of the film's plot.
In 2006, the BBC's Radio Times wrote: "It says a lot for Richard Burton that he was able to plumb the depths in dreary Second World War action movies such as this one, about a British officer releasing prisoners to attack Tobruk, without doing any apparent damage to his career. Even the usually dependable director Henry Hathaway falters in this flawed effort that was originally meant for TV".[2]
External links
- Raid on Rommel at IMDb
- Amazon viewer reviews of the film
- ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› Raid on Rommel at AllMovie
References
- ^ "Raid on Rommel". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 23 June, 2012..
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Radio Times review 29 January 2006
 | This article about a war film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |